The Vatican Information Service is a news service, founded in the Holy See Press Office, that provides information about the Magisterium and the pastoral activities of the Holy Father and the Roman Curia...[+]

Last 5 news

Friday, February 22, 2013

Vatican
City, 22 February 2013
(VIS) – The Holy See and the Republic of South Sudan, desirous of
promoting bonds of mutual friendship, have decided by common accord
to establish diplomatic relations at the level of Apostolic
Nunciature on the part of the Holy See and of Embassy on the part of
the Republic of South Sudan, according to information provided in a
communique today.

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appointed Fr. Miguel Angel Olaverri Arroniz, S.D.B., as bishop of
Pointe-Noire (area 13,500, population 2,384,000, Catholics 1,392,000,
priests 76, religious 89), Democratic Republic of the Congo. The
bishop-elect was born in Pamplona, Navarre, Spain in 1948 and was
ordained a priest in 1976. Since ordination he has served in several
missionary, congregational, and pastoral roles in African dioceses,
most recently in DR Congo as apostolic administrator for the Diocese
of Pointe-Noire, director of National Caritas, Migrant Pastoral
Services, and the Justice and Peace Commission, and president of the
national office for Social Communications.

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erected the Diocese of Gamboma with territory taken from the Diocese
of Owando, Democratic Republic of the Congo, making it a suffragan of
the Archdiocese of Brazzaville.

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appointed Fr. Urbain Ngassongo as the first bishop of the new Diocese
of Gamboma (area 38,400, population 193,000, Catholics 110,000,
priests 15, religious 14), Democratic Republic of the Congo. The
bishop-elect, previously secretary of the Episcopal Conference of DR
Congo, was born in Kinshasa, DR Congo in 1961 and was ordained a
priest in 1996. Since ordination he has served in several academic
and pastoral roles, most recently as pastoral administrator of
Balvano in Potenza, Italy.

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appointed Msgr. Ettore Balestrero as apostolic nuncio to Colombia, at
the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop and
assigning him the titular see of Vittoriana. The archbishop-elect,
previously under-secretary for the Holy See’s Relations with
States, was born in Genoa, Italy in 1966 and was ordained a priest in
1993. On entering the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1996, he
has served as a papal legate in Korea, Mongolia, Holland, and in the
section of Relations with States of the Secretariat of State.

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appointed Msgr. Miroslaw Adamczyk as apostolic nuncio to Libera, at
the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop and
assigning him the titular see of Oticoli. The archbishop-elect was
born in Gdansk, Poland in 1962 and was ordained a priest in 1987. On
entering the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1993, he has
served in the apostolic nunciatures of Madagascar, India, Hungary,
Belgium, South Africa, and Venezuela.

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appointed Msgr. Michael W. Banach as titular archbishop of Memfi, at
the same time assigning him the office of apostolic nuncio. The
archbishop-elect was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA and was
ordained a priest in 1988. He previously served as Holy See permanent
representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (AIEA), to
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and
to the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban
Treaty Organization (CTBTO), and Holy See permanent observer to the
United Nations Organization for Industrial Development (ONUDI), and
to the Office of the United Nations in Vienna, Austria.

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appointed Msgr Brian Udaigwe as titular archbishop of Suelli, at the
same time assigning him the office of apostolic nuncio. The
archbishop-elect was born in Tiko, Southwest Province, Cameroon in
1964 and was ordained a priest in 1992. On entering the diplomatic
service of the Holy See in 1994, he has served as a papal legate in
Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast, Haiti, Bulgaria, Thailand, and Great Britain.

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appointed Msgr. Antoine Camilleri as under-secretary for the Holy
See’s Relations with States. Msgr. Camilleri was previously a
nunciature counsellor of the Secretariat of State.